title: Reward positivity elicited by predictive cues.
abstract: A recent theory holds that a component of the human event-related brain potential called the reward positivity reflects a reward prediction error signal. We investigated this idea in gambling-like task in which, on each trial, a visual stimulus predicted a subsequent rewarding or nonrewarding outcome with 80% probability. Consistent with earlier results, we found that the reward positivity was larger to unexpected than to expected outcomes. In addition, we found that the predictive cues also elicited a reward positivity, as proposed by the theory. These results indicate that the reward positivity reflects the initial assessment of whether a trial will end in success or failure and the reappraisal of that information once the outcome actually occurs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. holroyd@uivic.ca
authors.forename: Clay B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Holroyd
authors.forename: Olav E
authors.initials: OE
authors.lastname: Krigolson
authors.forename: Seung
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012201:Reward; D055815:Young Adult